Back and forth it went, and the eventual record-holder didn't even know it.

Rockford's Mark Carlson set the International Game Fishing Association all-tackle release world record for muskies back in June 2011, and when Matt Forjohn of Ambler, Penn., broke that milestone this past Dec. 2, Carlson went out two days later and took it right back.

It wasn't until all the records were made official and put in the books that Carlson realized what had gone down.

"I had no idea. My guide knew, but he didn't want to tell me because he didn't want to upset me or something," Carlson, 60, said. "And then when I realized what had happened, I realized how crazy it all was. That's what makes this so interesting, is that it went boom-boom, and the record was re-set, and then re-set again."

Carlson held all five of the IGFA salmon records for a stretch back in the early 2000s, but he wanted the muskie mark, and he got it. Fishing near his cabin on the St. Lawrence Seaway outside of Gananoque, Ontario, Carlson reeled in a 128-centimeter muskie - measured with the certified IGFA ruler - back in 2011. The record stood until the early December day when Forjohn pulled one in that measured 130 cm.

Two days later, Carlson boated a muskie that he estimated to weigh over 55 pounds, and even though it had a smaller tail - which hurt his measurement as per the IGFA - he still re-gained the world record with the 132-cm catch.

"It was exciting. We'd been fishing hard, and long, and it was cold, so we worked for it," Carlson said. "And then, in the end, it was all worth it. We got it right back."

Carlson, an orthopedic surgeon in the area, will continue to try and log more records, and he's now taking aim at the all-tackle modern-day muskie weight record.